ABSTRACT

Title: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF CRIME AND CRIME RATE ANALYSIS IN DANAO CITY.Researchers: Fatima V. Capelllan Kimberly P. Laurel Degree: Bachelor in Elementary EducationAdviser:Emily C. CostanCollege:Cebu Technological University Danao City Campus

Year Completed: 2014No. of Pages:

The study determined the perception of the respondents to the level of crime and fear of crime in their community as well as to compare the crime rate for the year 2012-2013. The study employed the descriptive method as it gathered information through a research questionnaire modified and adopted from http://www.surveyshare.com/template/368/Community-Crime-Perception and the Reported crime data was extracted from the Danao City Police Station Crime Reporting Information System for Police database. Results showed that the respondents perception to the crime level in their community is not too serious but the comparative crime volume for 2012-2013 results showed that there is a high increase in the rate of crime in the community.

CHAPTER 1THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

RationaleThe concept of perception, according to Goodall (1987), refers to the psychological process by which people acquire information resulting from sensory contacts with the environment and then, according to their experiences and attitudes, constructs subjective assessments of reality.

There are two distinct measures of public perceptions of crime: fear of crime and concern about crime. According to Yin (1980) and Skogan (1984) in Smith and Torstensson (1997), fear of crime comprises three components: an assessment of the risk of victimisation (ie. vulnerability); a reaction to the threat of a crime; and an assessment of the seriousness of the feared offence and the injuries or losses which they could sustain from being victimised. Lunney (1995) refers to two types of fear associated with crime: formless fear, which is a vague uneasiness about ones safety in the community, evidenced for example, by fear of being home alone; and concrete fear, which is based on actual experiences with crime, either as a victim or by knowing a victim, and which is evidenced by fear of specific offences, such as sexual assault. Concern about crime, on the other hand, is defined as an individuals perception or estimation of the seriousness of the crime problem both within their community and within society (Clarke and Lewis (1982); Furstenburg (1971) in Gray and OConnor (1990)).

The concept of fear of crime is a response to external stimuli visualised and conceptualised as a major concern to the safety of an individual. These fears lead to an emotional response that creates perceptions of crime within a community (Yin, 1980).

Peoples perceptions of crime are shaped by numerous factors in todays society. While the perceptions held by some individuals may be well-founded, others may be at less personal risk than they actually believe (Grabosky, 1995). It is often this perceived vulnerability that leads to serious long-term effects on quality of life and social and economic well-being (Grabosky, 1995). According to Liska, Lawrence and Sanchirico (1982), fear of crime can lead to deleterious psychological effects, which include feelings of anxiety, mistrust, alienation, isolation, and dissatisfaction with life.

Fear of crime also results in people making attempts to counteract their fear by consuming drugs and alcohol; trying to avoid victimisation by evading certain places and strangers, staying off the streets and curtailing social activities; or protecting themselves by having watch dogs, firearms and barricades in their homes. Clemente and Kleiman (1977) point out that as fear becomes manifest in avoidance and antisocial patterns of behaviour, sociability; mutual trust; a willingness to help others; and a sense of belonging and satisfaction in ones neighbourhood and community eventually disappears.

Numerous factors that contribute to perceptions of crime have been identified in the literature (Reppetto, 1974; Hale, Pack and Salked, 1994), with three of the major contributors being vulnerability factors (eg. age; gender); environmental cues and conditions (eg. household characteristics; neighbourhood factors; reported crime rates); and personal knowledge of crime and victimisation (eg.previous victimisation experience; media exposure).

This research study, based in the Danao City, region of Cebu , utilised two major sources of data a descriptive survey in a form of quetionnaire and a detailed unpublished reported crime data - in order to examine and identify the factors which influence crime perceptions.

Reported crime data, in the form of Offences Against the Person and Offences Against Property for all residential dwellings and units in the Danao City Division was extracted from the Danao City Police Station Crime Reporting Information System for Police database. Further details on the reported crime data and the exact study locations cannot be revealed due to the confidentiality rules of the Danao City Police Station.

THE PROBLEMStatement of the problem

Perceptions of Crime and Crime rate can affect the quality of life of the people and the community. This study specifically aims to answer the following questions:1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:1.1 Age1.2 Sex1.3 Total household income1.4 Level of Education2. What is the level of police protection over the past three years as perceived by the respondents?3. What is the level of awareness of the respondents on the neighborhood crime watch program in their community?4. Is there a significant relationship between age of the respondents and the percent of victimization?5. Is there a significant difference on the perceived level of safety in the community in terms of sex?6. Is there an increase or decrease rate of the crime volume in the year 2012 - 2013?7. What is the residents perception on the seriousness of crime in their community?Statement of the Hypothesis1. There is no significant difference on the perceived level of safety in the community in terms of sex.2. There is no significant relationship between the age of the respondents and the percent of victimasation.

Significance of the StudyThe result of this study is beneficial to the following:To the communityThis study gives information to the community on the current crime trend as well as the real crime rate and not just hearsays they hear about the crimes their community.

To the Police DepartmentThis study makes the Police Department be aware of the perception of a chunk of people living in Danao City, how they perceive the safety of its community and how they are able to make certain measures to decrease the crime rate and make the people live without the fear of being victimized.

To the Future ResearchersThe researchers can have a comparative analysis and basis for future study regarding the communitys perception to crime and crime rate analysis.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

InstrumentThe study used the descriptive survey method adopted from http:// www. Survey share.com/template/368/Community-Crime-Perception .

RespondentsThe respondents for this research were residents in Danao City, 30 respondents were randomly selected in random places . They were the focus of the study since they were identified as the variable.

EnvironmentAll information acquired on the crime volume of 2012 2013 was gathered from the Danao City Police Station situated along the National Road. Through the approval of Chief Elmer S. Lim, Chief of Danao City Police Station we were able to record and analyze datas on the reported crimes.

Figure 1. Location of the Study. Modified from Google MapsLocation of the Study

Chapter 2PRESENTATION, ANALYSES, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter includes the presentation, analysis and interpretation of data gathered by the researchers in connection to the questions in the statement of the problem.PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTSAge The age of the respondents is presented in Table 1.Table 1Age Age FrequencyPercentage %

18-242377

25-35517

36-4513

46-5513

56-6500

66-older00

Total30100

It can be gleaned in Table 1, 77% of the respondents age ranges from 18 to 24 while 17 % of the respondents age ranges from 25-35 years old, followed by three percent of the respondents with the age 36-45 and three percent with the age of 46-45.

SexThe sex of the respondents is presented in Table 2.Table 2SexSexFrequencyPercentage %

Male723.33

Female2376.67

Total30100

It can be gleaned in Table 2 that out of 30 respondents, there are a lot more of female respondents (23) than male (7).

Total Household IncomeThe total household income of the respondents is presented in Table 3.Table 3Total Household IncomeTotal household income /monthFrequencyPercentage %

less than 10,0001343

10,000-19,999930

20,000-29,999413

30,000-39,999310

40,000-49,99913

50,000-above00

Total30100

As shown in table 3 Majority (43 %) of the respondents total household income per month is less than 10,000 , followed by 10,000-19,999 / month with 30%, and 20,000-29,999 / month with 13%, 10% of the respondents income ranges from 30,000 39,999 and minority (3%) of the respondents total income range from 40,000-49,999.

Level of EducationThe Level of Education attained by the respondents is presented in Table 4.Table 4Level of EducationLevel of EducationFrequencyPercentage %

High School Undergraduate27

High School Graduate27

College Level2377

Degree Graduate310

Total30100

As shown in table 4, 23% of the respondents are in College level, three percen are Degree Graduates, two percent are High School Undergraduate and two percent are High School Graduate.

Level of Police ProtectionThe Level of Police protection for the past two years as perceived by the respondents is presented in Table 5.Table 5Level of Police ProtectionLevel of Police ProtectionMaleFemaleTotal

N%N%N%

Increased0028.7027

Stayed about the same71001565.222273

Decreased00626.09620

Total71002310030100

As shown in table 5, 100% of the male respondents perceived that the level of police protection stayed about the same for the past three years while 8.70% of the female respondents said that it had increased, 65.22% said that it had stayed about the same and 26.09% said that the level of police protection had decreased.

Level of AwarenessThe Level of awareness of the respondents on the neighborhood crime watch program is presented in Table 5.Table 6Level of awareness on Neighborhood Crime Watch Program

Level of AwarenessMaleFemaleTotal

N%N%N%

Aware12028.7027

Less Aware3601252.172273

Unaware360939.13620

Total71002310030100

As shown in table 6, 20% of the male respondents are aware of the neighborhood crime watch program, 60% are less aware and 60% are totally unaware of the program while 8.70% of the female respondents said that they are aware, 52.17% are less aware.Table 7Chi-Square Test on the Respondents Response to the Question Have you been a victim of crime in your community?AgeHave you been a victim of crime in your community?Chi-Square Test StatisticP valueDecision

YesNoTotal

18-24221230.652174

0.884391

Expected Assumption is met.

25-35055

36-above022

Total22830

HO1: There is no significant relationship between the age of the respondents and the percent of victimization.Table 8Chi-Square Test on the Respondents Response to the Question Do you feel safe going out at night in your community?SexDo you feel safe going out at night in your community?Chi-Square Test StatisticP valueDecision

YesNoTotal

Male5270.093168

0.760188

Expected Assumption is met.

Female15823

Total131730

HO2: There is no significant difference between the sex of the respondents and there perceived level of safety in their community.Table 9Comparative Crime Volume January- December (C Y 2012-2013)Year

Index crimeNon-index crimeTotal Crime Volume

N%N%N%

201240633.331921959826.84

201381266.6681880.99163073.15

Total12181001011002228100

As shown in Table 9, in the year 2012 the reported index crime volume is 33.33% while the Non-index crime volume is only 19% resulting to a total of 26.84%, in the year 2013 the reported Index crime volume is 66.66% while the non-index crime volume is 80.99% with a total of 73.15%. here is a 173% increase of crime volume from 2012-2013, this is because in the year 2012 Barangay crime reports were not included, and by 2013 all reports including Barangay reported crimes were included.Table 10Index Crime VolumeYearTypes of Index CrimeTotal Crime

MURHOMPHY INJRAPEROBTHEFTCARCAT RUST

20122156210156125261406

201220725721293542914812

Total41123191251047955151218

As shown in table 10, in the year 2012 there are 10 reported crime on murder, 5 on homicide, 62 reported physical injury, 10 rape reports, 156 on robbery, 125 on theft , 26 reports on car napping and 1 reported crime on cattle rust a total of 406 reported crime while for the year 2013, there are 20 murder reports, 7 homicide, 257 physical injury, 2 rape reports, 129 robbery reports, 354 theft, 29 carnapping and 14 reported cattle rust crime. It can be gleaned that the most reported type of crime in 2013 is robbery (156) while the least is cattle rust (1), in the year 2013 the most reported crime is theft (354) while the least is rape.

Table 11Non-Index Crime VolumeYearTypes of Non-Index CrimeTotal Crime

Special LawsOthers

201214151192

2013262556818

Total4036071010

As shown in table 11, in the year 2012 ) there are 141 reported cases on special laws (e.g drugs, child abuse,prostitution, gambling, while there are 51 reported cases for the others (e.g attempted rape, fraud, embezzlement, perjury).In the year 2013 there are 262 cases agaisnt special law while for the otheres there are 556 cases.PERCEPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS TO THE LEVEL OF CRIME AND FEAR OF CRIME IN THEIR COMMUNITY

Figure 2. How serious is the crime level in you community?

As shown in figure 2 , Majority (47%) of the respondents perceived that the crime level in the community is no too serious, 20% said that the crime is somewhat serious, 13% said that it is serious and not at all serious, while minority seven percent said that the level of crime is very serious.

Figure 3. In the past two years what have you observed of the crime in your community?

As shown in figure 3 , 40% of the respondents perceived that the crime level had increased and 40% of the respondents think it had stayed about the same while 20% of them says that the crime level had decreased.Figure 4. Who committed most of the crimes in your community?

As shown in figure 4, 53% of the respondents said that most of the offenders in the community are adults, 40% perceived that is was the juveniles and 7% said that it was the old people

Figure 4. As perceived by the respondents,they ranked the causes of crimes, with 1 being the least to cause crime and 5 being the most likely to cause crime .

As shown in figure 4, the respondents ranked the lack of supervision of minors as the least to cause crime, followed by light sentencing of criminals, followed by unemployment , poeverty and the most likely to cause crime is drugs.

Chapter 3SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONThis chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations based on data analyzed in the previous chapter.FINDINGSBased on the data gathered the researchers found out:1. The total number of respondents for this study is 30. There are 7 male respondents and 23 female respondents.2. There are 23 respondents that ranges from 18-24 year old, 5 are 25-35 year old, 1 respondents age range from 36-45 and 1 from the age 46-55 year old.3. Majority (43 %) of the respondents total household income per month is less than 10,000, 30% of the respondents have 10,000 - 20,000, while minority (3%) of the respondents total household income range from 40,000-49,999. 4. In the level of Education, there are 77% of respondents who are in college level, 10% of them are degree graduates, 7% are highschool graduates and 7% are highschool undergraduate.5. In the past two years, 100% of the male respondents perceived that the level of police protection stayed about the same as well as majority of the female respondents 65.22% said that it had stayed about the same.6. Majority 50 % of the respondents are less aware of the implemented neighborhood crime watch program in their community, 10% said that they are aware and 40% are totally unaware.7. The computed value of 0.65 is lesser than the table value of 0.88, which means that there is no significant relationship between the age of the respondents and the percent of victimization.8. The computed value of 0.09 is lesser than the table value of 0.76 which means that there is no significant relationship between the sex of the respondents and there perceived level of safety in their community.9.There is an increase in the rate of crime for the past two years, the crimes that was reported most are theft and robbery.10. The residents perceived that the seriousness of crime level in their community is not too serious.

CONCLUSIONThe following conclusions were drawn, based on the findings of the study:1. The crime rate of Danao City had increased for the past two years, is in coordinate with the publics perception.2.The respondents believed that for the past two years crime continues to increase while the level of police protection had stayed about the same.3. Many of the respondents have little knowledge on the implemented neighborhood crime watch in their community.4.The residents of the Danao City although perceived that the crime rate had increased said that the seriousness of crime in their community is not too serious.5.Crimes like theft ,robbery and physical injury were rampant cases that continously increased for the past two years.6. Adults were peceived as the fequent offenders in Danao City, and the use of drugs is the most likely to cause crime in the community.7. Factors like the sex, age , level of Education and income can affect the respondents perception of crime in their community.

RECOMMENDATIONSBased on the findings and conclusions, the researchers formulated the following recommendations : 1. The police prevention program should be visible to the residents in the community so that the feeling of safety is more widespread.2. Residents should coopearate in promoting respect and importance to the life of every person in the community.3.Parents should be responsible enough to guide their children especially in the age of curiosity so that juvenile deliquency could be prevented.4. Residents should cooperate with the Police department in aiding them with information on the distribution of drugs and illegal activities since this is the perceived top causes of crime in the community.5.Future researchers who will conduct the same study should consider questioning more respondents so that the results would reflect the perception of a larger population in the community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. UNPUBLISHED THESIS

Anthea, Tainthom , (November 2010) , A COMMUNITIES PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING , Nottingham Trent University.Available :www.internetjournalofcriminology.com

Frith, Hatfield., et al , (August 2001)THE IMPACT OF CRIME:FEAR AND CONCERN IN A REGIONAL CONTEXT A STUDY OF THE TOWNSVILLE-THURINGOWA REGION , Australian Institute of Criminology, Townsville

B. INTERNET

Community crime perception templateAvailable: http://www.surveyshare.com/template/368/Community- Crime-Perception

APPENDIX ATRANSMITTAL LETTERRepublic of the PhilippinesCEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITYCTU-Danao City CampusAddress: Sabang Danao Citywww.ctu-danao.blogspot.comemail:ctudanao@yahoo.comTel.No (032) 200-361Fax no. (032) 200- 3614

Chief Elmer Salado LimChief of PoliceDanao City Police StationNational Road, Danao City

Dear Sir,We are fourth year college students of the Cebu Technological University Danao City campus and we are conducting a research study entitled Public Perceptions of Crime and Crime Rate Analysis in Danao City In this connection, we respectfully request that we may be allowed to gather data of the reported crimes for the last three years in Danao city.We are hoping for your kind consideration. Thank you very much for this and for the past favors.

Respectfully yours,LAUREL , KIMBERLY P.CAPELLAN, FATIMA V.

Noted by:EMILY COSTAN Adviser

AQUILINO M. ENRIQUEZ Ph.DCampus DirectorCTU Danao Campus

Approved by:Elmer Salado LimChief of PoliceAPPENDIX BREASEARCH INSTRUMENT 1.Sex Male Female2.Age 18-24 25-35 36-45 46-45 56-65 66 or older3. Total household incomeless than 10,000 10,000-19,999 20,000-29,999 30,000-39,999 40,000-49,999 50,000 or above4. Highest level of education completed High School Undergraduate High School Graduate College level Degree Graduate5. How serious is the crime level in your community? Very serious Somewhat serious Serious Not too serious Not at all serious6. In the past three years what have you observed of the crime in your community?IncreasedStayed about the sameDecreased7.What can you say about the level of police protection in your community over the past three years?IncreasedStayed about the sameDecreased8. Do you feel the need for more police patrols in your community?More police patrolsAbout the same number of Police PatrolsLess police patrols9. Does your community have a neighborhood crime watch program?yesnoI dont know10.Do you belong to a neighborhood crime watch?yesnowe do not have a neighborhood crime watch

11.How safe are you in your community? Very unsafe Unsafe SafeVery safe12.In the past three years have you been a victim of crime in your community?yesno13.Have you purchased a gun for protection from crime?yesno14. Do you own a dog for protection from crime?yesno15.How safe do you feel about going out at night in your community?Very unsafeUnsafeSafeVery Safe16.Who commited most of the crimes in your community?juvenileadultsOld people

17. Please rank what you feel are the most important causes of crime with 1 being least likely to cause crime and 5 being most likely to cause crime.

12345

UnemploymentPovertyDrugsLight Sentencing of criminalsLack of supervision of minors

Increasing police patrolsLegalizing drugsStronger prosecution and sentencingSupervised activities for juvenilesEnforced curfew for juveniles1234518. Please rank the following crime reducing measures based on how effectively you feel each would be with 1 being least likely and 5 being most effective at reducing crime.

19. Please rank the following crime based on how severe the problem is in your community with 1 being least likely and 5 being most severe problem.

12345Property crimes (vandalism,theft)Violent crimes(assault,armed robbery)Rape Ramdom killingDrug related crime

20. what do you feel could be done to decrease crime in your community? (optional)

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